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U. Other Conduct

A small number of FBI agents at GTMO told the OIG that they observed or heard about various other interrogation or detention techniques not addressed above. Some of this information was provided in response to the "catch all" OIG survey question regarding other interrogation techniques that were unprofessional, unduly harsh or aggressive, coercive, abusive, or unlawful.

Using water to simulate drowning. No FBI employees reported witnessing the use of water to simulate drowning (including "waterboarding") or similar techniques at GTMO. Out of the approximately 500 FBI employees who were deployed to GTMO, only 2 told the OIG that they had even heard of the use of such a technique. The first agent's information is described above at page 109. The second agent told the OIG that he once heard a discussion at GTMO when someone mentioned using water as an interrogation tool and someone else in the group said, "Yeah I've seen that." The agent told the OIG he doubted that anyone he talked to actually saw such a technique being employed at GTMO.

Hooding or Blindfolding. We sought information regarding the hooding or blindfolding of detainees for reasons other than the transportation of detainees at GTMO. Several agents indicated that they were aware of the use of hoods during the transportation of detainees, but not situations involving interrogations or detention operations.

Using Snakes. One FBI employee reported in his survey response that a detainee, whose name or number he could not recall, told him that he found a snake in his cell and he suspected that his "interrogators" had something to do with it. The employee indicated in his survey response that he too suspected that an interrogator from another agency might have been responsible for placing the snake in the detainee's cell.

Use of Pornography. Several FBI agents reported incidents involving the exposure of a detainee to pornography. For example, one SSA told the OIG that on July 30, 2003, he observed two military intelligence interrogators showing homosexual pornographic movies to a detainee and using a strobe light in the room. The SSA reported this incident in an email to his Unit Chief.156 Several other FBI agents also reported hearing allegations that detainees had been exposed to pornography at GTMO, but they did not themselves observe this conduct.157

Mistranslation. One FBI agent who served at GTMO from late December 2002 until early February 2003 told the OIG that on one occasion he and a translator listened in on an interview being conducted by an FBI agent and a translator named George (last name unknown). The observing agent said his translator told him that George was mistranslating what the interviewing agent was attempting to communicate to the detainee, and that what George was telling the detainee was considerably more inflammatory than what the interviewing agent was saying. The agent said that at some point much later he wrote an EC documenting this incident.

Draping a detainee in the flag of Israel. One agent reported an incident during the summer of 2003 in which a detainee was draped in an Israeli flag. The agent said that after finishing an interview he walked into an observation room where he heard loud music, saw a strobe light, and saw a detainee sitting on the floor with an Israeli flag draped over his shoulders.158 There was no one in the interview room or in the monitoring room, but there were one or two men in the hallway wearing olive green fatigues with tape over their name badges. The agent said he reported this incident to the OSC, who responded that he would raise the incident with the General at the next staff meeting. The OSC told the OIG he had no recollection of being told about an incident involving an Israeli flag.

Performing a mock baptism. One agent told the OIG that he tried to establish rapport with detainee Yussef Mohammed Mubarak Al-Shihri (#114). The agent said that prior to his attempts to interview Al-Shihri, he heard that the military had someone dress up as a Catholic priest and pretend to baptize Al-Shihri. However, he said he never verified that this actually happened. The OSC at the time told the OIG said he did not recall the agent telling him about this incident.

Sham interviews. The OIG survey also asked respondents to report any information they had concerning any "sham" or "staged" detainee interviews or interrogations conducted for Members of Congress or their staff. Two agents reported that they saw interviews that were being observed by congressional staffers. (From the dates and descriptions given, we believe that they may have been reporting the same incident.) In neither case did the agents consider the interview to be a sham. Another agent reported that she heard a second-hand account from a DOD interrogator that a sham or staged interview had taken place on multiple occasions, but that she did not observe this practice herself.

Notes

156. This incident was the subject of a "Commander's Inquiry" at GTMO in which Major General Jay W. Hood found "no credible evidence to support" the agent's claim that a homosexual pornographic movie was used during a military interrogation. However, General Hood did find that from August 2002 through July 2003 pornographic photos were used in 14 instances as an interrogation technique during military interrogations. As of March 20, 2006, General Hood prohibited the use of pornography in any form as part of an interrogation plan or as an incentive without prior approval of the Joint Task Force Commander.

157. Two SSAs described circumstances surrounding the alleged treatment of a detainee Zuhail Abdo Al-Sharabi (#569) by another FBI agent. Among other things, they alleged that the agent placed pornography in Al-Sharabi's cell. The OIG's investigation of this incident is discussed in Chapter Eleven of this report. In addition, during an OIG interview on February 28, 2007, detainee Muhammad Al-Qarani alleged that an FBI agent exposed him to pornographic pictures. This incident is addressed in Chapter Eleven.

158. A different agent said in his survey response that detainee Juma Mohammed Abdul Latif AI-Dosari, #261 told him that an interrogator wrapped an Israeli flag around Al-Dosari and then urinated on the flag.